The same U.S. Supreme Court that’s repeatedly ruled that the president of the United States is not above the law considers itself above a simple, enforceable code of ethical conduct. This is not right — which is why the bipartisan bill to require the high court to impose such a code upon itself should become law.

There must be a binding set of rules to which all justices must abide.

All other federal judges, whether at the trial or appeals level, must follow such rules — which, among other things, require them to “avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.” If a judge breaches the code, he or she can be investigated and reprimanded. Not The Nine. The Nine keep their fingers on the scales of justice they purport to revere.

The separation of powers is an ingenious feature of the constitutional system James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and the rest designed. But Congress is not here meddling in the internal workings of the judiciary; it is simply requiring that the court, on its own, adopt a code and have an individual handle complaints about violations.

Confidence in the Supreme Court is lower than it’s ever been; just 25% of those polled by Gallup say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the highest bench in the land.

Without legitimacy, rulings will lose their force and the republic will drift ever further apart. Require a code under law.